Over 23,000 books have been banned in the U.S. since 2021, according to Kelly Jensen of Book Riot. October 5 through October 11 is Banned Books week, and book bans only continue to appear around us today. Censorship itself has been on the rise as well, but first, what is a book ban?
According to USA Today, they define a book ban as “any action taken against a title based on its content.” These books include, but are not limited to, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
All these books are currently being banned, mainly in the south and red states, because of a conversation about children’s safety. Let it be known that children’s safety is important and purposefully talked about. However, there is a line that is being crossed in terms of telling diverse stories. If anything, it is unsafe not to tell diverse and important stories. Now, if asked, I would say that The Handmaid’s Tale does not belong in an elementary schooler’s hand, but that does not mean it should be taken out of the high school library.
According to Jensen, “In the 2024-2025 school year, there were 6,870 book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts. These bans affected 3,752 unique book titles,” and according to PEN America between July of 2024 and June 2025, “For the third straight year, Florida was the No. 1 state for book bans, with 2,304 instances of bans, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622.”
Not only this, but removing books from schools pushes a false agenda about children’s safety. Book bans assume that teachers are giving students books they do not believe they are able to read. On top of that, banning books assumes that the teachers of the U.S. are not doing a good job.
Why does this matter, though? Book bans matter because they remove diversity from public schools and take away the very stories that educate us every day. What is often talked about when it comes to book bans is the common theme that hides behind them: prejudice. Even Ray Bradbury, a revolutionary author for his own currently banned novel “Fahrenheit 451,” a dystopian novel about a government that burns books to keep people uneducated, said, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” This means he understood how important books are to maintain a diverse culture within America.
Some may say that this is an important step for public schools in America, but that is false. In fact, this is the opposite of what a public school is for. Banning books is an infringement on free speech, hence why PEN America has published book reports before National Banned Books Week. “By publishing the report in advance of National Banned Books Week from October 5-11, PEN America hopes to ballast a strong defense of free speech and the freedom to read.”
Often, with policies and enforcements like book bans, it is never truly about the policy but the intentions behind it. America should be a place of diversity and culture like it used to be when our pervious Americans paved for it to be inclusive, but with policies like book bans, that grit and perseverance of a rich society is lost. Unfortunately, these bans continue to rise and are not slowing down, but you can be that change by saying something. Even if you believe that your community upholds the art and knowledge that are books and writing, it could happen anywhere. Call your district’s school board, petition for children to gain equal and fair education, and help contribute to this growing problem within America.
